Dragon Flame & Sword
by Mahayana
Summary: "And what if I win?" the Dragon whispered menacingly in his mind."If you win, you can have my life," Yuugi swallowed past the knot in his throat.   "It is dangerous to wager with creatures more powerful than you, little knight." Atem/Yuugi.


_**Summary:**_ _"And what if I win?" the Dragon whispered menacingly in his mind._

"_If you win, you can have my life," Yuugi swallowed past the knot in his throat. _

"_It is dangerous to wager with creatures more powerful than you, little knight."_

_**Pairing:**__ Atem/Yuugi, if Yuugi doesn't get eaten by a dragon first._

* * *

><p><strong>Dragon Flame &amp; Sword<strong>

_by Mahayana_

The air around him reeked of sulfur, heavy clouds obscuring any sun that might have illuminated the canyon. Yuugi covered his nose with the sleeve of his tunic and stubbornly moved forward, weary of the loose rocks shifting underfoot. He came to a halt a good fifty paces from the yawning cave entrance.

"Come out Dragon! I challenge you!"

Nothing moved. The cave remained silent and looming. Yuugi felt the darkness spilling out of it pulling at his soul, his fear trying to swallow him before the battle had even started.

"Dragon!" he shouted again. "Are you cowering in fear of my sword?"

Something moved then. A flicker amongst the blackness. Yugi took a step back as the ground shook.

"A challenge?" a voice roared deep inside the earth, deep inside Yuugi's mind. Yuugi only heard the growling of a beast, but he understood. The Dragon had acknowledged him.

"I come for the Malchus Sword! The mark of the True King!"

"Hoo," the Dragon breathed, amused. A great, black head thrust from the darkness followed by a massive body. Thick, white steam dripped from the Dragon's hide like a cloak. Yuugi's hands trembled on his sword hilt. "And what would you do with the Malchus Sword, little knight?" The Dragon laughed at Yuugi's impudence. Such a tiny human being. The Dragon's crimson eyes pinned him. Yuugi stared back defiantly.

"I am no knight! I am a prince! And I have come for the Sword to reclaim my kingdom!"

"Yet another royal feud," the Dragon yawned, uninterested. Yuugi knew that a bored Dragon was a very dangerous one. He had no illusions as to his own importance in the view of a 3,000 year old beast.

"I have not come to challenge you with my sword, however!" Yuugi threw his blade to the ground, making sure the Dragon saw the motion. "I have come to challenge you to a game!"

The gigantic head shot forward suddenly, stopping so close to Yuugi that he could see flecks of gold in the Dragon's eyes. The intolerable heat of its body penetrated even Yuugi's leather armor. Sweat trickled down between his shoulder blades.

"And what if I win?" the Dragon whispered menacingly in his mind.

"If you win, you can have my life," Yuugi swallowed past the knot in his throat.

"I can have your life anyway," the Dragon mocked.

"Yes, but can you beat me? I am really very good at games."

The Dragon abruptly laughed, then moved its head another inch closer. Yuugi's bangs brushed against its sharp scales.

"It is dangerous to wager with creatures more powerful than you, little knight," the Dragon warned. "But I will accept your challenge."

The Dragon moved back then as its body erupted into fire, the inferno shooting so far into the heavens that it caught unassuming birds flying overhead. Yuugi exhaled forcefully through his nose, trying not to scream in terror.

The fire died down, spreading over the surrounding rock like spilled oil. A lithe, dark-skinned youth stepped from amongst the flames, his hair dyed a wild black, gold, and red. The ground singed under the boy's bare feet. Curiously, Yuugi noted the gold chain clasped around one, slim ankle, snaking back into the cave, and he remembered the curse that bound the Dragon to the fate of the Malchus Sword.

The boy-Dragon stepped fearlessly in front of Yuugi, tilting Yuugi's chin up with one hand. Yuugi thought the boy had beautiful red eyes.

"What game shall we play, little knight?" the boy asked, his smile full of razor-sharp, white teeth.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>_

_In case that you imagined Atem walking out of the fire naked as you read this, the omake would go something like this:_

_**Omake**_

_Atem: "What game shall we play, little knight?"_

_Yuugi: "Strip poker! You lose!"_

_This was originally written for the LJ drabble community ygodrabble. The prompt was "Chains". There may or may not be more of this, if I can figure out what kind of a game Yuugi thinks he could have any chance of winning against a 3,000 year old dragon. …Strip poker aside… XD;_


End file.
